A recent article in the Huffington Post discussed the growing trend of Slactivism, a term used by the author, Mr. Bob McKinnon, to describe the way in which individuals support an idea or an issue using minimal effort. In today’s world, all one needs to do is click “Like” or “retweet” to express their approval .

A current example of Slactivism is the frenzy surrounding the KONY 2012 film. Despite various reported inaccuracies and exaggerations, millions of people expressed outrage over the perceived injustice via mediums such as Twitter and Facebook. Since little effort was required to show support for the cause, it’s no wonder that the issue itself was presented in an incomplete and even inaccurate manner. In today’s world, it appears that any publicity, positive or negative, is good publicity. This is a sharp contrast to the gung ho, hit the ground running-attitude of activists from generations past.

This type of activism in no way diminishes the validity of one’s opinion. Nevertheless, an American public that devotes considerable time and energy to a cause by taking real action would necessitate more accountability in the political sphere as a whole, an arena in which any publicity, positive or negative, is often viewed as good publicity. Nowhere is this brand of negative publicity more visible than on the campaign trail to the White House. The GOP nomination was fueled by critique, finger pointing and pessimism. Campaign ads for both Presidential candidates have begun to air in the recent weeks, and they too have been wrought with unconstructive bashing. Rather than support their own opinions and suggested policies with sound research and conviction, the candidates have a propensity to spend the majority of their time bad mouthing their opponents and questioning their past policies.

Negative campaign strategies are nothing new; mudslinging has been a political tactic for much of history. However, when combined with the “click and forget” attitude fueled by today’s social media platforms, these tactics, and the inaccuracies that often accompany them become less accountable and more effective. Accusations, missteps on the campaign trail and other damaging material can be spread throughout the media and the American public with the click of a mouse.  In fact, the real power in today’s political arena stems not from the power of positive thinking, but from the ability to uncover the negative and distribute it en masse. I am not comfortable with a world driven by negative publicity. Those in the public affairs industry are in a unique position to determine the substance and tone surrounding certain issues. I believe that it is important to keep our faith in the power of positive thinking and to recognize that, regardless of Slactivists and mudslinging politicians, our industry will benefit from constructive, accurate and positive advocacy.

by Alex Mitchell, 2012 Spring Intern Class

Infographics (or information graphics) represent complex and intricate data, information or knowledge quickly and clearly. They can also serve as a great supplementary tool in our need for quick and accessible information. However, this is not necessarily a new concept. Humans have been using information graphics for thousands of years on visual aids such as public signage, statistical data shown in graphs and charts, and even road maps. In fact, the process of map-making was created well before the first forms of writing came to be. As these processes became more intricate, new graphic elements were added such as icons to record important information and records. Information graphics have also played a role in storytelling and retaining events and information to memory.

As we progress, fresh ideas, good communicators, and pioneering designers become more of a necessity. Producing easy-to-understand, aesthetically pleasing and easily accessible information is our modern day challenge. With the rapid growth of social media sites such as facebook, twitter, Google+, Pinterest and others – the need to stand out is becoming more vital to digitally driven companies. Infographics can support this by adding impact to a serious or pressing topic, creating an instantaneous emotional connection to an issue, reducing confusion by simplifying and illustrating a complex idea or concept, bridging generation and communication gaps, promoting a brand or message, and even accelerating a client or targeted audience’s decision making.

When used properly, infographics can connect the target audience and information or content on a more personal and relatable level. By visualizing the key messages and data points, the viewer is more likely to retain the information. For example, I have developed effective infographics for clients on issues ranging from education to maintaining affordable food prices.  They were successful because of their striking statistics and recognizable graphics that had immediate impact on the target audiences. The key messages were also interesting, straightforward, and important to the reader.

Through the strategic use and consideration of color, structural layout, thoughtfully summarized content; infographics can stand on their own to convince, summarize and clarify what was once a daunting task.

by Kim Hirose, 2012 Spring Intern Class

This week I toured the new site in Newark where Bloom Energy will build fuel cells known as “Bloom Boxes.“ Currently, Bloom has a sole manufacturing plant, in Sunnyvale, Calif., that builds fuel cells destined for West Coast locations. However, a single Bloom Box weighs about 17 tons, making shipping logistically challenging, not to mention costly.

A Delaware production facility opens the door to expand relationship with existing customers and win new customers east of the Mississippi. The Bloom facility will sit on a 272-acre site with a rich manufacturing history. Originally the U.S. Army built tanks on the site. In 1957, Chrysler assumed ownership for a massive auto plant that at one point employed more than 5,000 people before it was shuttered in the 2008 recession. Now, Bloom is bringing economic opportunity back to the region – and to their sector.

Why Delaware? In addition to having some of the best Italian subs on the East Coast, Bloom Energy chose to locate their new manufacturing facility in the state for several important reasons

• Financial incentives: As part of Bloom’s agreement, Delaware is providing up to $16.5 million dollars in direct incentives for the company to locate their factory in the state.
• Local power company commitment: Delmarva Power, the local Utility agreed to buy 30 megawatts of power from Bloom, which will count toward Delmarva’s goal of sourcing 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025. (Even though Bloom fuel cells utilize natural gas, the state allowed Delmarva to count Bloom as a “renewable.“) Delmarva also got state approval to enact a monthly surcharge of $1.34 on residential customers over the next 21 year to help offset the costs.
• Access to an educated and skilled labor pool: The University of Delaware purchased from Chrysler the manufacturing site that Bloom will be located on to create a new Science, Technology and Advanced Research Campus. The university envisions that Bloom, and hopefully other high-tech companies, will locate there and tap into their pipeline of skilled graduates to power their workforce.
• Aggressive courtship from local leaders: Beyond providing direct incentives, the state’s leadership — including Governor Jack Markell, Senators Chris Coons and Thomas Carper and University of Delaware President Dr. Patrick Harker — all visited Bloom’s California headquarters and personally lobbied them to locate in Delaware.

Bloom has received a lot of media attention, ever since charismatic co-founder and CEO KR Shidhar gave Lesley Stahl a peek inside a Bloom Fuel Cell on 60 Minutes in 2010. Some critics of Bloom say that all the media attention Bloom has received is overblown. But this new factory is a big deal not only for the company and the State of Delaware, but for the entire cleantech industry.

Expanding its U.S. footprint not only further cements Bloom’s relationship with its current roster of Fortune 500 companies – including Apple, AT&T, Coca-Cola, Google and Wal-Mart — but it also illustrates that, Yes, Virginia, there is a hope for the U.S. domestic cleantech sector.

This post first appeared in Greenbiz.

The images and description of it swayed me. I swore I would never buy non-organic ground beef, ever.  I was disgusted by the images I saw and horrified to think ammonia was being added to my family’s food.

Emotion drives social media. Gross, outlandish content and seemingly infuriating issues spread like wildfire. There are no fact checkers on social media. The public reacts to viral content it assumes is accurate.

In this case, it wasn’t.

It turns out that LFTB– Lean Finely Textured Beef—(the technical name for “pink slime”) is 100% beef with the fat removed to make it leaner. Trace amounts of ammonium hydroxide (approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in food processing decades ago) is added to it to eliminate deadly bacteria—like E. coli. 

The meat industry and food experts were blind-sided by the uproar.  Not only had the FDA approved its use long ago, many food safety experts even praised it as a significant advancement in ensuring the safety of raw meat.

FDA officials, food scientists and all major consumer organizations joined the conversation on social media in support of LFTB as safe and nutritious, but they couldn’t stop the tide.

One Texas mom was so outraged by the use of LFTB that she started an online petition asking the USDA “put a stop to pink slime in school lunches.”  She received more than 200,000 signatures in eight days. The USDA responded by announcing schools could opt out of serving ground beef with LFTB.  Several did.

Responding to consumer demand, several supermarket chains and some fast food chains vowed never to sell beef with this ingredient again.

The largest producer of LFTB was forced to shut down operations, leaving more than 600 people without a job. Another meat processor filed for bankruptcy.  And ground beef prices will likely rise as a result.

Social media empowers average citizens to bring about change. This is a powerful example of the consequences when that change is fueled by misinformation.

While getting “slimed” by social media may not be entirely unavoidable, here are some top-line lessons we can take away:

1)      Social media is a quick and emotional, but not necessarily factual, media.  Images and video are the best way to appeal to emotions, quickly.

2)      Be prepared for anything your organization or industry does to become the ire of the social media mob.  Even what seems benign and regular practice could be distorted through social media.  Have a strategy in place to combat it.

3)      Assess where your organization is potentially vulnerable and proactively address it.

The Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) position is still a fairly new leadership role in most organizations, with little guidance given on how to do the job. In a recent study by Ellen Weinreb titled, “CSO Back Story:  How Chief Sustainability Officers Reached the C-Suite,” she observed that many CSOs have influence, but little direct power. What role do these individuals and their team play in driving integration when a CSO has little direct management over different and diverse business units that make up a company?

These issues and others are addressed in a chapter I recently co-authored with Charlene Lake, AT&T’s Chief Sustainability Officer. Titled, “Sustainability for Business: A New Global Challenge,” it’s a featured chapter inThe Handbook of Strategic Public Relations and Integrated Communications, and is a roadmap for companies looking to integrate sustainability into their business operations. The chapter provides several key insights into the approach AT&T is taking to further drive sustainability inside the company. More importantly, it contains useful guidelines for anyone trying to navigate this tricky position.

The following are five hats an effective sustainability executive must wear to be successful:

1.    Catalyst: Integrating sustainability into a business, particularly a large company, can be a slow process. Knowing the corporate culture and framing the business case is a key ingredient in being a catalyst for driving change.

2.    Engineer: Driving change requires some type of organizational structure to integrate sustainability top down and across a company.  But, this runs counter to most companies that tend to be a collection of people organized in silos with minimal cross-pollination. The establishment of such a structure, while it may resemble herding cats, is a necessary function that requires an engineer who appreciates and can successfully navigate all the silos in a company.

3.    Connector: Bringing the outside world in to create a better understanding of the social and environmental issues that intersect with the company is another key aspect of this job. It requires someone who understands the value of the outside perspective and can convince business units to listen with an open mind.

4.    Scout: The adage, “the only constant is change,” aptly describes the world in which companies operate. Social, market and regulatory trends ebb and flow, constantly evolving over time. It’s essential to stay one step ahead and scout out and interpret emerging trends, so that the company can mitigate the risks these trends will bring and take advantage of the opportunities that will be on the horizon.

5.    Collaborator: Working inside a company where direct oversight is virtually non-existent necessitates the need to collaborate on initiatives with different business units. Collaboration has its pros and cons — it further helps to drive sustainability inside a company, but it may also require that one accepts the fact that the pace of adoption may be slower and less than ideal.

This case study chronicling AT&T’s experience is a great resource for any company looking to integrate social and environmental issues into its business operations. Integrating these issues  not only makes good business sense, but it strengthens the communities where a company  operates and positions it to better compete tomorrow.

This post first appeared in Triple Pundit.

To that end, we worked with our digital team to create infographics to paint a picture of the exciting and vibrant community that makes up VOX. Each team member brings unique insight, background and culture to our company. Our community has worked all over the world, including in every region of the United States, and has experience that spans sectors. Walking through our company’s halls, one could hear anything from Hindu to Swedish or join efforts with the more than 60 percent of us who volunteer within our communities.

Our network is both vast and impressive with 70 percent of VOXers reporting placements in top tier media sites and over 85 percent pursuing professional development work. So whether you look to the world of social media, politics or business, VOX is growing, active and achieving thanks to each unique individual at our company. Each team member is a piece in the greater VOX puzzle and, with 100 percent reporting that they find their work meaningful, that puzzle is pretty special.

Beyond intellectual curiosity, I believe there are several good reasons why any major American business should have a close eye on what happens on the other side of the Atlantic. The six most important ones, it seems to me, can be summarized as follows:

1)      Growth in Europe is good for U.S. business

Our economies are profoundly intertwined.  Europe and the U.S. are each other’s best and most stable foreign market as well as each other’s best supplier.  When the European economy slows down, it deeply impacts U.S. exports.  Some economists suggest that “the European crisis will subtract around one percentage point from U.S. growth.”  At the very least, it is certain to have significant effects across the Atlantic that directly influence U.S. growth prospects.  Furthermore, structural reforms in the EU following the financial crisis will impact the business strategies of American companies, as they adjust their future risk assessments to the evolving political, institutional and economic reality in Europe.

2)      Europe is more and more a regulatory standard-setter

The EU set a regulatory milestone in 2006 with the REACH legislation, which requires the global chemical industry to comply with far-reaching regulation of firms that produce or market their products in the EU.  Environmental legislation is yet another example of ambitious rulemaking by the EU with global consequences – for example when it requires all airlines to buy permits for its CO₂ emissions for flights into and out of Europe.

Refuting the idea that such regulation stifles the European economy, EU leaders see these moves as increasing Europe’s competitiveness in the long run.  Beyond the immediate concerns for health, safety and environment, Europe hopes to trigger more innovation as well as more consumer demand through higher confidence in its marketplace and its products.

The financial crisis has accelerated this trend.  European financial services regulation is aimed at creating a marketplace that inspires confidence – with the hope that the European standard progressively spills over to its trading partners and raises the bar internationally.

3)      Europe’s voice in international forums

Ever since its creation and by its very nature, the EU has been a champion of multilateralism.  Over the past few years of financial crisis aftermath, Europe has taken a more proactive role in international discussions about the regulatory agenda.  During its 2011 G20 presidency, France, for instance, built on an early endorsement by the EU for its initial proposals in order to substantially influence the international debate on fundamental issues such as commodities trading, financial derivatives and trade policy – all issues which will directly impact American businesses.

4)      European media matters

Today, a company’s reputation is shaped by media outlets that are global in nature.  With online media, a good or bad story crosses the pond in the blink of an eye.  A major European newspaper, blog post or even Twitter user will have the potential to alter the way companies are perceived by key audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.  It is critical for businesses to understand how Europeans perceive them.  Doing so will allow corporations to spot potential crises and opportunities quickly.

5)      The role of EU competition policy

Given market integration, no company that operates on both sides of the Atlantic can afford to neglect the importance of European competition policy.  The European Commission has the power to block a merger if it would significantly impede competition in the EU.  This is exactly what happened in 2001, when the EU blocked the takeover of Honeywell by GE and derailed what would have been the largest industrial merger in history.

Even smaller American firms can be impacted by Europe’s policy, particularly as the EU controls the legality of governmental subsidies for key industries designed to level the transatlantic playing field under World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations.

6)      Common future challenges

U.S. businesses and European businesses sit in the same boat.  They are tied to each other through a very close and mutually beneficial relationship, being each other’s best trading partner.  Likewise, they will face similar uncertainties and challenges in the next few decades.  They will both be affected by increasing competition from fast-growing economies, dependence on foreign countries for raw materials, and the need to remain competitive through innovation and productivity gains.  The U.S. and Europe will be better equipped for these challenges if they continue to cooperate closely on finding solutions together.

Mike Cuzzi and Brooke McNally attended the New England Council Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

Ted Wagnon participated in a meeting of the Tax Committee of Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce to discuss state tax code with Rep. Davey Carter, who chairs the House Committee Revenue & Tax, which plans extensive hearings to review state tax exemptions, credits and incentives.

Anastasiya Elaeva presented at the International Public Relations Research Conference in Miami, FL

Anastasiya Elaeva attended “An Education Conversation with Matt Tully (a political columnist for the Indianapolis Star)” and “Educate Indiana Speaker Series: Indianapolis Public Schools Transformation Plan – Creating Opportunity Schools,” in Indianapolis.

Cameron Thomas, Rachel Adams, Carey Tarbell, Jessica Abensour, Robert Hoopes, and Alex Hahn attended the Building a Grad Nation Summit in Washington, DC, with 1400 notable influencers in education in attendance including Randall Stephenson, Gen. Colin Powell and George Lucas.

• How do companies define sustainability?
• With rising energy prices, how are companies using sustainability to make the business case to transition to alternative forms of energy?
• How do Chief Sustainability Officers drive integration throughout a company, even when they typically have no management authority to do so?
• How are businesses of all sizes incorporating social and environmental issues into business operations?

Over the past six years, Tony has been working closely with Charlene Lake and her team to integrate social and environmental issues into one of the largest companies in the world. In the new book, they share useful tips and insights that can be applied inside other companies that are trying to identify the intersection between their business and communities where they operate.

Please contact Tony Calandro if you would like more information on this topic.

Download a copy of the chapter.

Read the The Handbook of Strategic Public Relations and Integrated Marketing Communications press release.

DINFOS, a United States Department of Defense School, provides members from all U.S. military branches, Department of Defense civilians, and international military personnel with training in public affairs, print journalism, photojournalism, graphic arts, and various other forms of multimedia. They currently train approximately 3,200 service members, civilians, and international students through 32 different courses varying from 5 to124 days in length. In some cases, DINFOS classes will cover the equivalent of a year-long college course in just 66 days.

The Visual Information Awards Program is designed to recognize, reward, and promote excellence among military photographers, videographers, journalists, and graphic artists for their achievements.

As this was my first time judging any kind of official competition, I expected to be in a private room discussing and voting with the other judges. The exact opposite was true. Along with two other judges, I sat in a small auditorium at a large computer screen and audibly voted “in” or “out” on hundreds of submissions for ten different categories:  animation, digital art, fine art, illustration, layout and design, publication, web design, logo design, and mixed media.

In the first round we simply chose “in” or “out” to narrow down the choices. Once that was complete, we discussed our thoughts and opinions on the remaining entries. Our conversations were broadcast online and in the room to interested students, staff, and faculty who were anxious to hear both our comments and the overall results.  The moderators had a live feed of questions from listeners who wanted to know what we were thinking, why we voted a certain way, and how they could improve their work.

It was an unbelievable experience to sit with two very accomplished designers and see such an amazing selection of work in so many different art forms. I’ve included pictures of a few of my favorite pieces below and you can see all of the winners here.

MC1 Chad D Runge
“unbeaTEN”

LCpl Reagan P Lodge
Belleau Wood

MC2 Christopher M Dollar
LA Navy Week 2011 Alternative Poster